


Waving Through A Window

by alltheglowingeyes



Series: PJO/HoO/ToA One Shots [22]
Category: Percy Jackson and the Olympians - Rick Riordan, The Heroes of Olympus - Rick Riordan, The Trials of Apollo - Rick Riordan
Genre: Friendship, Gen, Insecurity, Light Angst, Sibling Bonding, The Seven
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-24
Updated: 2020-09-24
Packaged: 2021-03-07 19:27:44
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,009
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26632861
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/alltheglowingeyes/pseuds/alltheglowingeyes
Summary: Nico's got some problem with the prophecy Seven demigods. Hazel wants to understand.
Relationships: Nico di Angelo & Hazel Levesque
Series: PJO/HoO/ToA One Shots [22]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1861492
Comments: 6
Kudos: 94





	Waving Through A Window

**Author's Note:**

> Request by weird_hoodie_kid:  
> “can you do like nico feeling uncomfortable with the 7? idk i feel like he would overthink their friendship- "
> 
> Thank you for the request! I definitely agree with this prompt/headcanon, so I enjoyed writing this story. It kind of became really Nico and Hazel sibling bonding lol, but I tried to incorporate your prompt as much as I could!
> 
> And yes, yet another song for the title rip. It kind of makes sense??? I don't know, I made a reference to one of the lyrics in the story so...
> 
> Gonna shut up now haha.
> 
> This story is also posted on fanfiction.net under the same username.
> 
> Enjoy! :)
> 
> \- alltheglowingeyes

It was less than four months after the Giant War, and Nico had changed.

Hazel didn’t get to see her half-brother often, as fixing the damage that Octavian had inflicted on Camp Jupiter took up most of her time. But each time she called him, he seemed to grow a little more confident and happy, something Hazel loved to see.

And yet, whenever she arrived at Camp Half-Blood for a visit, she felt herself worrying that he was isolating himself. Everytime she tried to call him over to hang out with some of the others of the Seven, be it Percy or Jason or even just Frank, he always made up an excuse or flat-out denied her invitation. When she asked the others about Nico’s habits, they didn’t really seem to know what to say.

She had planned to have a conversation with him, trying to properly gauge his social activities, in their next face-to-face meeting. However, a wrench was thrown in her initial idea during her latest visit.

Hazel found herself gazing at Nico in the distance. He was sitting on the ground next to a brown haired boy ( _What was his name… Keith? Carson? Chris… Cecil, that’s right!_ ), doubled over in laughter - a rare sight for her big brother. In front of them, Will Solace was trying to pin down the daughter of Hecate that Hazel remembered as Lou, attempting to grapple for his sandal as the girl tossed it back and forth, concealing its location with simple Mist manipulation.

It made Hazel overwhelmingly happy to see Nico so at ease; laughing with the other demigods, he seemed so much younger and pure. But she couldn’t shake the unnerving feeling of hurt creeping over her. It took her months to break down his walls enough that he would even show a single sign of tenderness to her, but these demigods who Hazel, as far as she was concerned, were new friends of his, had no problem making him smile and converse easily. And he seemed to have no issues hanging out with them, while when she had asked him to come and talk with some of the other Seven, he had turned her down.

She huffed, chastising herself as she turned back to whatever Annabeth and Frank were talking about. She wasn’t going to sulk about it; he was happy and that was what mattered. But she made a quick mental note to talk to Nico later. Maybe she could talk about having his friends spend more time with the rest of the Seven.

With that thought in mind, she smiled and dove back into the topic at hand.

* * *

That evening. Hazel finally got some alone time with Nico. She decided to stay in the Hades’ Cabin, citing to Reyna her wish to spend as much time as she could with her brother. Frank had come and gone, wishing her goodnight as she stayed awake, doodling on a random piece of paper while waiting for Nico.

When the final warning call sounded from the harpies, Hazel wondered if everything was alright. She almost burst out of the cabin, pajama pants and all, to check for her brother when she heard the door open, laughter sounding through.

Waiting patiently, she watched Nico whisper back and forth with the person at the door for a minute or so before finally closing up. As he turned around, Hazel noticed the red flush to his face, his eyes glowing ever so slightly. He offered Hazel a rare and soft smile.

“You’re still up. Something wrong?” he asked, heading to the bathroom to get ready for bed.

Hazel shrugged, returning the smile. “Stayed up for _you_ , big brother. We leave in two days back to Camp Jupiter and I feel like we haven’t got to talk as much as I wanted to.”

Nico hummed in agreement ( _he was in quite the good mood_ ), “You’re not wrong. Give me ten minutes, and I’ll finish up getting ready for bed. Then we can catch up.”

Hazel gave him a final fleeting smile as Nico stepped into the bathroom. She laid back onto her bed, rehearsing the conversation in her head and debating whether it was _really_ worth it. About fifteen minutes later, Nico flopped onto his own bed, now clothed in his pajamas. He turned his head to face Hazel.

“So? How are things at Camp Jupiter, Ms. Centurion?” he asked, raising an eyebrow.

Hazel hesitantly smiled, “Ah, it’s pretty good. But, um, first, can I ask you something?”

Nico knit his eyebrows, pushing himself up and swinging his legs so he was now fully facing Hazel, who had done the same. He studied his sister’s face for a few seconds before nodding carefully.

Hazel chewed her lip, forcing herself to keep Nico’s gaze. “Well, I saw you with your other friends earlier today, and I was wondering if I could meet them?” When Nico didn’t answer, she found herself continuing to ramble. “They looked really nice, you know? I met Will once, when Reyna and I were checking in on some of our legionnaires who were in the infirmary, and that Lou girl has really awesome Mist powers that I would love to hear more about. Maybe we could plan an outing together? Like your friends can get to know the rest of the Seven too and-”

“No.”

Hazel blinked, a little taken aback. “Pardon me?”

Nico sighed, rubbing his temples. “Look, Hazel, I _really_ appreciate your efforts and enthusiasm to get to know my new… friends, and I would like you to meet them. I mean, Lou Ellen is constantly gushing about you ever since I told her about your Mist manipulation skills and not only meeting with, but fighting _alongside_ her mother.”

Hazel felt a twinge of pride at the idea of Nico bragging about her, but forced herself to regain her focus. “Ok… so why no?”

Nico winced, running a hand through his hair. “Ah. I just don’t want… _them_ , to meet Lou, Will, and Cecil.”

It took Hazel a second to understand what he meant. “Wha- you mean the rest of the Seven? But they are your friends. I mean, I can respect your decision, but you shouldn't feel embarrassed about introducing them to your new buddies.”

Something flashed in Nico’s eyes as he folded his arms over his chest. “No, Hazel. They are _your_ friends. I’m just your creepy loser of a brother who they are nice to because they love _you_. They can all pretend all they want, but at the end of the day, I’ll never fit into your clique of heroic beacons of light.”

Hazel stared at Nico uncomprehendingly. “Why do you say that, Nico?” she coaxed gently.

Nico took a deep breath, making a clear effort to reign in his temper. “Look, I’ve made peace with all of them individually. They aren’t… _horrible_ or something. In fact, most of them have been making an effort to be my friend. But sometimes I really doubt the intentions of their friendship with me. Like I’m sure most of it is pity or trying to stay close to you.”

Hazel tried to think of something to say, but she was a little lost for words. Nico, on the other hand, was not.

“You told me yourself, Hazel, that Jason and Leo were ready to… to let me _die_ in the jar. I understand their reasons, ok? They didn’t know me and all they had heard about me were all the horrible things that I did in the past. But it still makes it hard to look Jason in the eye and feel like he _really_ gives a damn about me.”

Hazel swallowed. She had forgotten that she had told Nico about that, mentally cursing at herself for the decision. “They apologized…” she tried weakly. Nico rolled his eyes in response.

“Only because _you_ were upset. It wasn’t about me at all.”

Sighing, Hazel tried to approach things differently. “Ok, what about Frank? And Percy? Annabeth and Piper too? They scolded Jason and Leo too.”

Nico sighed, looking a little more bored than angry at this point. “Percy only wants to befriend me to keep his promise to Bianca. After she died. I was just another responsibility thrust upon him. Annabeth… she’s ok, I guess. I don’t know about her. Piper never made an attempt to get to know me until Jason seemed to decide to take me under his wing as his new pity project or something and Frank is just scared of me, but sticks around because he knows it’s important to you that we get along. I tried so hard to _suck it up_ and _take what I got_ , but being around Will and Lou and Cecil and so many other campers, I realized that maybe I deserve more than just pity friends, that I can actually do this on my own. I never felt that amongst the rest of you guys, and even after the war I always feel like I’m on the outside always looking in. I’m sick of not being good enough.”

Hazel pursed her lips, feeling a lump form in her throat. She could hear a sort of underlying bitterness and pain in Nico’s voice as he trailed off. It broke her heart to realize just how much being around the other of the Seven made him suffer and feel inferior.

She moved to his bed, sitting next to him and taking his hand in her own. “I can’t excuse any of the behaviors of the others in the past, but I just want you to hear me out when I say that they all would genuinely love to get to know you now. I think… what you said might be true, but after everything that happened, we all have so much respect for you. I just…” she sighed, squeezing his hand. “Could you try to give it a chance?”

Nico hesitated, lowering his gaze. “You’re my sister, Hazel. I’d lose a limb for you. But this… I won’t tell you off immediately, but I need some time to still figure out what I want. I’m willing to make an effort, I suppose, but I’m not sure if I can accept how they treated me previously.”

She felt a small smile grace her face, kissing Nico’s cheek. “That’s all I can ask for. Thank you for being honest with me and hearing me out.”

Nico hummed softly, laying on his back. Hazel followed in suit as the two of them stared at the ceiling, eyes tracing the random patterns in the plaster.

After a few seconds, Hazel spoke up once more. “Can you tell me about your new friends?”

Nico let out a soft sigh as he began telling her about the people he had befriended around Camp. It was more than Will, Lou Ellen, and Cecil; he was sparring buddies with Ellis from Ares, regaled Miranda and Katie from Demeter with amusing anecdotes of their mother and Persephone, volunteered in the infirmary with Kayla and Austin, and even smuggled an extra pack of smiley stickers for Harley from the Hephaestus Cabin every once in a while.

As he was in the middle of a story about Lou Ellen losing Connor’s left ear a few days prior, Hazel turned to look at him. His eyes were shining with excitement, arms gesturing for emphasis despite being on his back. Again, she marvelled at how relaxed talking about these other campers made him.

Hazel knew that his relationship with the rest of the Seven would be tense for a good amount of time, maybe for the rest of their lives. But watching the childlike glee on his face as he cracked himself up over the story at hand, she took comfort in the notion that he wasn’t alone anymore.

The thought warming her chest, she turned her gaze back to the ceiling. For the rest of the night, the faint laughter of the two children of the Underworld could be heard throughout Camp.

  
  


**Author's Note:**

> I hope this was good lol. It took me a bit to finish, mostly because of school and general feelings of b l e h, but I did it.
> 
> I don't know if I properly addressed the prompt, but I tried to get it as accurate as I could. If I by any chance got some details wrong about the whole "should we rescue Nico or not" situation in MoA, please LMK!
> 
> Leave any requests/headcanons, if you want!
> 
> You can follow me on my tumblr @alltheglowingeyess for updates on multichapter fics/a compiled list of my one-shots/random Riordanverse shit, or to just say hi. :)


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